Carol Kane
Carol Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress and comedian. She gained recognition for her role in Hester Street (1975), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Annie Hall (1977), When a Stranger Calls (1979), The Princess Bride (1987), Scrooged (1988) and Flashback (1990).
Carol Kane

Greg2600 · Carol Kane · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Full name
- Carolyn Laurie Kane.
- Born
- 1952. · Cleveland.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- actress.
- Education
- Professional Children's School and HB Studio.
- Honours
- Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
- Languages
- English.
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Carol Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress and comedian. She gained recognition for her role in Hester Street (1975), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Annie Hall (1977), When a Stranger Calls (1979), The Princess Bride (1987), Scrooged (1988) and Flashback (1990).
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In this article
Early life
Early life
Kane appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s as Simka Gravas, the wife of Latka (played by Andy Kaufman), winning two Emmy Awards for her work. She has played the character of Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked, both in touring productions and on Broadway from 2005 to 2014. From 2015 to 2020, she was a main cast member on the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, in which she played Lillian Kaushtupper. She currently plays the recurring role of Pelia in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2023–present).
Carol Kane studied at Professional Children's School and HB Studio. The recorded working language is English. Distinctions recorded are Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Kane was born on June 18, 1952, in Cleveland, the daughter of Joy, a jazz singer, teacher, dancer, and pianist, and architect Michael Kane. Her family is Jewish, and her grandparents emigrated from Russia, Austria, and Poland. Due to her father's occupation, Kane moved frequently as a child; she briefly lived in Paris at age eight, where she began learning to speak French. Additionally, she resided in Haiti at age 10. Her parents divorced when she was 12 years old. She attended the Cherry Lawn School, a boarding school in Darien, Connecticut, until 1965. She studied theater at HB Studio and also went to the Professional Children's School in New York City. She became a member of both the Screen Actors Guild and the Actors' Equity Association at age 14. Kane made her professional theater debut in a 1966 production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring Tammy Grimes, her first job as a member of Actors' Equity.
1971–1979: Career beginnings and early recognition
1971–1979: Career beginnings and early recognition
Kane's on-screen career began while she was still a teenager, when she appeared in minor roles in films such as Desperate Characters and Mike Nichols's Carnal Knowledge in 1971, the latter of which led her to befriend lead actor Jack Nicholson. In 1972, she was cast in her first leading role in the Canadian production Wedding in White, where she played a teenage rape victim who is forced into marriage by her father. She also appeared as a sex worker in Hal Ashby's 1973 film The Last Detail, where she collaborated with Nicholson again. In 1975, Kane was cast in Joan Micklin Silver's feature-length debut Hester Street, in which she played a Russian-Jewish immigrant who struggles with her husband to assimilate in late 19th-century New York. For her performance in the film, Kane garnered her sole Academy Award nomination for Best Actress at the 48th Academy Awards, and it remains her favorite of all her roles. Additionally, in 1975 she appeared as a bank teller in Sidney Lumet's crime drama Dog Day Afternoon, which received numerous Academy Award nominations in other categories that same year. This also marked her first on-screen collaboration with Al Pacino, whom she had known prior to the film thanks to their shared background in theater. Despite this recognition, however, Kane has recounted waiting for approximately a year before being cast in her next role, which she has attributed to the trend of actors being typecast after receiving awards attention. Her return to the screen would come with Gene Wilder's 1977 comedy The World's Greatest Lover, which she has credited for identifying the comedic talents that would become her staple in later years. During the same year, she was cast in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Annie Hall, where she played Allison Portchnik, the first wife of Allen's character Alvy Singer. She also appeared in Ken Russell's film Valentino, which, like The World's Greatest Lover, takes inspiration from the silent film era, as it is a biographical drama loosely inspired by the life of Rudolph Valentino.After this, Kane appeared in the horror films The Mafu Cage (1978) and When a Stranger Calls (1979); ironically, Kane herself is largely averse to horror, and she admits to being unable to watch the latter. In 1979, she also appeared in a cameo role in The Muppet Movie, as well as played an emotionally dependent and childish American woman in La Sabina. For her performance in the latter she won the CEC Award for Best Supporting Actress.
1980–1990: Taxi and transition into comedy
1980–1990: Taxi and transition into comedy
From 1980 to 1983, Kane portrayed Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, the wife of Andy Kaufman's character Latka Gravas, on the American television series Taxi. She has theorized that she was cast in Taxi in part due to her work in Hester Street, where a significant portion of her dialogue was spoken in Yiddish, since Simka speaks a fictional language with a vaguely Eastern European accent. Kane has attributed the on-screen rapport she shared with Kaufman to their different work ethics: where she was trained in the theater and enjoyed rehearsal time, Kaufman was rooted more in stand-up comedy and did not care for rehearsals, a contrast that she believes enhanced their believability as a married couple. However, she maintains that she and Kaufman had a loving relationship on set, and she has spoken fondly of him in retrospective interviews. Kane received two Emmy Awards for her work on Taxi. Her role on the series has largely been credited as the beginning of her pivot towards more comedic roles, as she began to regularly appear in sitcoms and comedy films after the series ended. In 1984, Kane appeared in episode 12, season 3 of Cheers as Amanda, an acquaintance of Diane Chambers from her time spent in a mental institution. She was also a regular on the 1986 series All Is Forgiven. In 1987, Kane appeared in Ishtar, Elaine May's notorious box-office flop turned cult classic, playing the frustrated girlfriend of Dustin Hoffman's character. That year also saw her make one of her most recognizable film appearances in Rob Reiner's fantasy romance The Princess Bride, where she played Valerie, the wife of Miracle Max (Billy Crystal). In 1988, Kane appeared in the Cinemax Comedy Experiment Rap Master Ronnie: A Report Card alongside Jon Cryer and the Smothers Brothers. During the same year, she was also featured in the Bill Murray vehicle Scrooged, where she portrayed a contemporary version of the Ghost of Christmas Present, depicted in the film as a fairy. For this performance, Variety called her "unquestionably [the] pic's comic highlight". Additionally, she played a potential love interest for Steve Martin's character in the 1990 film My Blue Heaven.
2005–2014: Wicked and career expansion
2005–2014: Wicked and career expansion
Kane is also known for her portrayal of the evil headmistress Madame Morrible in the Broadway musical Wicked, whom she played in various productions from 2005 to 2014. Kane made her Wicked debut on the 1st National Tour, playing the role from March 9 through December 19, 2005. She then reprised the role in the Broadway production from January 10 through November 12, 2006. She again played the role for the Los Angeles production which began performances on February 7, 2007. She left the production on December 30, 2007, and later returned on August 26, 2008, until the production closed on January 11, 2009. In January 2009, she guest starred in the television series Two and a Half Men as the mother of Alan Harper's receptionist. She then transferred with the Los Angeles company of Wicked to reprise her role once again, this time in the San Francisco production, which began performances January 27, 2009. She ended her limited engagement on March 22, 2009. In March 2010, Kane appeared in the ABC series Ugly Betty as Justin Suarez's acting teacher. Kane starred in the off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore in February 2010. She made her West End debut in January 2011 in a major revival of Lillian Hellman's drama The Children's Hour at London's Comedy Theatre, where she starred alongside Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Ellen Burstyn. In May 2012, Kane appeared on Broadway as Betty Chumley in a revival of the play Harvey. Kane returned to the Broadway company of Wicked from July 1, 2013, through February 22, 2014, a period that included the show's 10th anniversary. In 2014, she was cast in a recurring role on the television series Gotham as Gertrude Kapelput, the Hungarian-born mother of Oswald Cobblepot, also known as Penguin.
Personal life
Personal life
Kane was in a relationship with actor Woody Harrelson from 1986 to 1988. The two have remained friends since their break-up, and Harrelson was seen attending Kane's 60th birthday party in 2012. She has never been married or had any children. Regarding the latter decision, she has said, "I never felt that I would be calm and stable enough to be the kind of mother I'd like to be. I don't think everyone randomly is mother material." Kane is often noted for her high, breathy, slow voice, though her vocal timbre has grown raspier with age. Kane, who has often altered her voice to suit various roles, has confessed to disliking it, telling People magazine in 2020 that she wishes her voice was "deep and beautiful and sexy". A documentary about Kane and her 98-year-old mother Joy premiered in 2025, titled Carol & Joy.

Carol Kane and Gene Wilder in a publicity photo for The World's Greatest Lover
Studio/Unknown · [1]

Carol Kane and Gene Wilder in a publicity photo for The World's Greatest Lover
Studio/Unknown · [1]
1990–2004: Television and film regularity
Kane became a regular on the NBC series American Dreamer, which ran from 1990 to 1991. In 1993, she appeared in Addams Family Values where she replaced Judith Malina as Grandmama Addams; this role saw her reunite with her Taxi castmate Christopher Lloyd. She also guest starred on a 1994 episode of Seinfeld, as well as a 1996 episode of Ellen. In 1996, she was given a supporting role in the short-lived sitcom Pearl. From there, she continued to appear in a number of film roles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including The Pallbearer (1996), Office Killer (1997), Jawbreaker (1999), and My First Mister (2001). In 1998, she voiced Mother Duck in the American version of the animated television film The First Snow of Winter. In 1999, she made a cameo in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon as herself playing the Taxi character.
2015–present: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and legacy roles
In 2015, Kane was cast in the recurring role of Lillian Kaushtupper, the landlord to the title character of the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Kane joined the cast due in part to her admiration of showrunner Tina Fey, with whom she had previously wanted to collaborate on the NBC series 30 Rock. She was promoted to a series regular for the show's second season. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ran for four seasons, making it one of Kane's longest television roles to date. She reprised the role in the "interactive" television special Kimmy vs the Reverend. In 2018, Kane was cast in Jacques Audiard's Western film The Sisters Brothers. In 2019, she appeared in Jim Jarmusch's horror comedy The Dead Don't Die, marking another collaboration with Bill Murray. That same year, she was featured in the recurring role of Bianca Nova in season one of the HBO series Los Espookys, where she reunited with her Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt castmate Fred Armisen. In 2020, Kane was featured in the ensemble cast of the Amazon series Hunters, which also includes her longtime acquaintance Al Pacino. Additionally, during the same year, she participated in two cast reunion fundraisers, one with the cast of Taxi for the Actors Fund, the other with the cast of The Princess Bride for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. It was announced on Star Trek Day 2022 that Kane would join the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for season two as Chief Engineer Pelia. Prior to her casting, Kane had never seen an episode of the original Star Trek series, though she has said the show's writers thought this oversight improved her performance. In 2024, Kane starred in Nathan Silver's comedy film Between the Temples, in which she portrays a woman who, having been raised by secular parents, decides to have a bat mitzvah later in life. Kane has stated that she drew inspiration from Silver's mother, who studied for a bat mitzvah in her sixties; she was also inspired by her own mother, who, at age 55, moved to Paris to become a musician. For her work in the film, she received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was nominated for Best Supporting Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards. In December 2024, she was announced as part of the cast of Darren Aronofsky's film Caught Stealing, where she plays Bubbe, a small role as a grandmother to two Jewish gangsters.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 15-21. The Associated Press. June 9, 2025.
- 2.Senger, Trustman. Carol Kane, On Her Good Side. The Washington Post. 1986-05-29. 0190-8286.
- 3."Carol Kane Unofficial Fan Page".
- 4.Yinney, Cynthia. Hunters: Carol Kane Discusses Getting Intense and Her Diverse Roles. CBR. February 28, 2020.
- 5.Carol Kane Talks Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Family, and More. Closer Weekly. 2018-07-14.
- 6.Myers, Marc. 'Star Trek' Star Carol Kane Watched Old Movies as a Kid to Ease Her Insomnia. The Wall Street Journal. 2023-07-25. 0099-9660.
- 7."Cherry Lawn School, Class of 1965". Cherry Lawn School. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- 8."Cherry Lawn School Photo Of The Month, October 1999". Cherry Lawn School. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- 9.Alumni. HB Studio.
- 10.Carol Kane On "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" BUILD Series. YouTube. 2016-05-26.
- 11."Carol Kane Biography". YahooMovies. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- 12.Ebiri, Bilge. Carol Kane Looks Back on Hester Street and Not Going to Mexico With Andy Kaufman. Vulture. 2021-10-01.
- 13.Carol Kane on The Oscars Curse.
- 14.Jacobs, Matthew. Carol Kane Never Meant To Become Hollywood's Go-To Eccentric. HuffPost. 2020-11-09.
- 15.Abrams, Simon. 20 Great Muppet Movie Celebrity Cameos. Vulture. 2014-03-20.
- 16.Kinder, Marsha. Blood Cinema. The Reconstruction of National Identity in Spain. University of California Press. 360. 1993. 0-520-08153-6.
- 17.Premios del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos. El País. 2 February 1980.
- 18.CBS New York. 22 Minutes With Carol Kane. June 27, 2016.
- 19.Harris, Will. Carol Kane on Scrooged, Andy Kaufman, and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The A.V. Club. 2015-10-24.
- 20.Lacher, Irene. Moving a Step Beyond. Los Angeles Times. May 11, 2002.
- 21.Wojciechowski, Michele. Carol Kane of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: How She Broke Into Comedy With Gene Wilder. Parade. 2017-05-24.
- 22.Scrooged. Variety. December 31, 1987.
- 23.Gans, Andrew. 'High Flying Adored': Wicked Tour Launches in Toronto March 8. Playbill. 2005-03-08.
- 24.Quadruple Play: Wicked Welcomes Espinosa, Kane, Williams and Candler Jan. 10. Playbill.
- 25.Gans, Andrew. Wicked Officially Opens in Los Angeles Feb. 21. Playbill. 2007-02-21.
- 26.Gans, Andrew. Wicked Ends Lengthy Los Angeles Run Jan. 11. Playbill. January 11, 2009.
- 27.Thank God for Scoliosis. TV.com.
- 28.Bacalzo, Dan. Garrison, Kane, Kassebaum, Wicks Set for San Francisco Wicked. Theater Mania. December 16, 2008.
- 29.Gans, Andrew. Academy Award Winner Duke to Join Cast of San Fran's Wicked. March 2, 2009.
- 30.Grossman, Daniella. 'Ugly Betty' Bites: 16 wit-filled bits from last night's episode, 'All the World's a Stage'!. Entertainment Weekly. March 10, 2018.
- 31.BWW News Desk."'Love, Loss And What I Wore' Welcomes Comedic New Cast; Janeane Garofalo, Carol Kane & More Bow 2/3". broadwayworld.com, December 10, 2009.
- 32.Ellen Burstyn and Carol Kane Join Cast of West End's Children's Hour. Playbill.
- 33.Gans, Andrew. Broadway's Wicked Will Welcome Carol Kane and Michael Wartella. Playbill. June 21, 2013.
- 34.Mathé, Charlotte. Gotham: Carol Kane cast as Penguin's mother. Digital Spy. 2014-07-03.
- 35.Havey, Max. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a great addition to Netflix lineup. Vox. March 20, 2015.
- 36.Carol Kane on Tina Fey, 'Kimmy Schmidt', & Andy Kaufman.
- 37.Snetiker, Marc. 'Kimmy Schmidt' season 2: Carol Kane talks the future of Lillian. Entertainment Weekly. 2016-04-12.
- 38.Carlin, Shannon. The 'Kimmy Schmidt' Special Cast Is Full Of Celebs — If You Can Find Them. Refinery29. 2020-05-15.
- 39.Sharf, Zack. 'The Sisters Brothers' First Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal Plan a 19th Century Assassination. IndieWire. 2018-05-24.
- 40.Murphy, Mekado. How 'The Dead Don't Die' Handles Its Zombies. The New York Times. 2019-06-21. 0362-4331.
- 41.Lopez, Julyssa. The Absurdist Imaginings of 'Los Espookys'. The Nation. 2019-10-19. 0027-8378.
- 42.Snierson, Dan. 'Frasier' and 'Taxi' casts to reunite, 'This Is Us' stars to sing for The Actors Fund. Entertainment Weekly. 2020-03-27.
- 43.Aquilina, Tyler. 'The Princess Bride' cast reuniting for virtual script reading fundraiser. Entertainment Weekly. 2020-09-05.
- 44.Star Trek Day 2022 Carol Kane Joins Cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2. Star Trek. 2023-07-24.
- 45.Vary, Adam B. 'Strange New Worlds' Star Carol Kane Discusses Her Character's 'Unique' Accent and Why She's Never Seen 'Star Trek'. Variety. 2023-06-15.
- 46.Wise, Damon. 'Between The Temples' Star Carol Kane Explains How She Stayed On Top Of Her Game During Her Long, "Peculiar" Career: "Showbiz Is A Lot Of Quicksand". Deadline. 2025-01-12.
- 47.Richlin, Harrison. Carol Kane's Last Oscar Nomination Came in 1976 — 'Between the Temples' Could Change That. IndieWire. 19 December 2024.
- 48.‘Caught Stealing’ Gives Us Tough, Hasidic Drug Lords: is That Good For Jews?. Religion Unplugged. 2025-09-11.
- 49.Cunningham, Joel. See '80s Comedy Icon Carol Kane Now at 70. Yahoo Life. 2022-11-07.
- 50.Hutchings, David. Woody Harrelson, Cheers' Cheery Bartender, Feels a Bit Mixed About Fame and a Strange Family Twist. People. November 14, 1988.
- 51.Smith, Nigel. Carol Kane Says She Feels 'Shame' About Her Iconic Voice: 'I Wish It Was Deep and Sexy'. People. 2020-02-19.
- 52.CriterionChannelCarol & Joy accessed 12/12/2025
- 53.Becker, Frawley. And The Stars Spoke Back: A Dialogue Coach Remembers Hollywood Players Of The Sixties In Paris. Scarecrow Press. 188, 199. 2004. 978-0-8108-5157-3.
- 54.Lodge, Guy. 'Between the Temples' Review: Jason Schwartzman Gives Carol Kane a Belated Bat Mitzvah in a Winningly Off-Kilter Comedy. Variety. 19 January 2024.
- 55.Complex, Valerie. 'Between The Temples' Review: Nathan Silver Drama Finds Harmony In Healing – Sundance Film Festival. Deadline Hollywood. 19 January 2024.
- 56.Lang, Brent. Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane Starring in 'Between the Temples,' an 'Anxious Comedy' About a Cantor and His Student (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. 2023-05-10.
- 57.Wise, Damon. 'Between The Temples' Star Carol Kane Explains How She Stayed On Top Of Her Game During Her Long, "Peculiar" Career: "Showbiz Is A Lot Of Quicksand". Deadline. 2025-01-12.
- 58.Wiseman, Andreas. Jason Segel Joins Angelina Jolie & Aimee Lou Wood In 'Anxious People' As Cameras Roll; Black Bear Pic Is First To Use Pinewood Indie Film Hub. Deadline Hollywood. September 2, 2025.
- 59.Children's Television Workshop. Bob accompanies Oscar to Grouchytown. 43. 1989-12-27.
- 60.KET - NODDY - The Tooth Fairy.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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